Louis Colaianni (born April 29, 1959 inPaterson, New Jersey) is an American voice, speech, dialect and text coach and director in theprofessional theatre, with specialisation inShakespeare performance.
He has taught in many actor-training programs and served as voice and text coach for productions at theatres throughout theUnited States, including, Santa Fe Opera, Playwrights Horizons, The Culture Project, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Westport Country Playhouse, The McCarter Theatre, The Labyrinth Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Shakespeare Festival of St Louis, Trinity Repertory Theatre, Utah Shakespearean Festival and Seattle Repertory Theatre.
He was a tenured, associate professor atUniversity of Missouri–Kansas City. He is a visiting associate professor atYale School of Drama, where he teaches Voice into Shakespeare,[1] and adjunct associate professor atSyracuse University, Department of Drama, where he teaches Speech and Dialects. For seven years, he taught Acting Classics at theActors Studio Drama School at Pace University, and for several years, taught Acting Classics and Voice atVassar College, as adjunct associate professor. Louis Colaianni has given workshops internationally. He invented thePhonetic Pillows approach to Phonetics and Stage Accents which is used by many actor training programs. He studied voice withKristin Linklater and is a Designated Linklater Teacher.
He is the author of several books including,The Joy of Phonetics and Accents,Shakespeare's Names: A New Pronouncing Dictionary,Bringing Speech to Life (with Claudia Anderson), andHow to Speak Shakespeare (withCal Pritner).
He recently served as dialect coach for theAmazon Prime seriesRed Oaks and theSanta Fe Opera production ofMozart'sThe Impresario directed byMichael Gieleta, Off-Broadway production ofEve Ensler's play Emotional Creature, directed byJo Bonney, the Williamstown Theatre Festival production ofJune Moon directed byJessica Stone and theLAByrinth Theater Company production ofThe Little Flower of East Orange, byStephen Adly Guirgis, directed byPhilip Seymour Hoffman. He was dialect coach toBill Murray for the filmsHyde Park on Hudson andSt. Vincent,Don Cheadle for the filmMiles Ahead,Anna Gunn for the filmLittle Red Wagon,Richard Schiff for the McCarter Theatre'sTalley's Folly, under the supervision ofLanford Wilson, andAmerica Ferrera (prep) for the filmChavez. He was vocal coach toWill Ferrell for theBroadway andHBO productions ofYou're Welcome America.
Louis Colaianni's father,James F. Colaianni, was an author, theologian and activist who wroteMarried Priests and Married Nuns andThe Catholic Left, and was editor ofRamparts.
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